Dr. Ãkos Hartai is certified in Veterinary Acupuncture and Tui-Na by the Chi Institute, where he has also taken basic and advanced acupuncture courses, food therapy and Chinese Medicine and Herbal classes. Dr. Hartai has completed Parker College of Chiropracticâs Animal Chiropractic course and attained certification by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. Dr. Hartai has also completed classes in rehabilitation by the Canine Rehabilitation Institute and is working towards certification through them.
To contact Dr. Hartai please call Advanced Animal Care of Colorado at (970)-493-3333 or email drhartai@ advancedanimalcareofcolorado.com.
Acupuncture:
By inserting tiny needles in specific points over the body we can cause beneficial responses inside the body. Most animals handle the insertion of needles well and lay still during treatments, some even fall asleep. Conditions that respond well to acupuncture are general pain, both acute and chronic; arthritis, intervertebral disc disease, nerve paralysis, chronic conditions such as gastrointestinal disturbances and diarrhea. Acupuncture can create a general improvement in quality of life, attitude and athletic performance. Other uses include palliative treatment for pain, nausea and blood cell suppression associated with cancers and chemotherapies. For example we can do acupuncture for acute musculoskeletal injuries or to balance the body to reduce issues that arise from constitutional imbalances (genetic and environmental factors that predispose the pet to disease).
Chiropractic:
This is a western system that focuses mainly on the spine and the nerves that travel through it. By manipulating the spine to restore normal motion and nerve inputs, we can reduce pain, inflammation and some internal conditions. We can adjust backs and limbs to improve and restore normal ranges of movements and allow better overall function.
Canine Rehabilitation:
We can use rehabilitation to first assess the muscles, joints and ligaments to check for pain, swelling, reduced range of motion and reduced muscle mass. After the evaluation we use specific exercises to strengthen those muscles that are deficient, stretch those that are tight and use techniques, like joint compressions, to reduce and relieve pain and even restore neurologic function. We may use tools such as exercise balls, balance boards, and therabands or our brand new underwater treadmill and swimming pool to accomplish our goals. In addition to evaluations and exercises at the clinic we can develop an at home exercise program to make progress even faster! In this setting we can use active stretches to be ready for performance, use modalities to treat injuries and use exercises to prevent injuries by strengthening.
Laser Therapy:
Our Class IV K-Laser is a very versatile tool! We use it on everything from chronic arthritis to ear infections. The complete list of conditions is very long and we can advise you if your pet is a candidate. We use it to reduce pain due to strains, sprains, arthritis, swelling and to help speed the healing of infections (ears, skin), wounds, surgical incisions and even gingivitis. The light from the laser stimulates increased healing of damaged cells, increases blood flow to tissues and reduces pain by stimulating nerves. The treatments are quick (5-15 minutes) and are painless. Most dogs really enjoy these sessions and really relax and love coming back for more as it makes them feel better. We use our laser quite often for geriatric dogs with chronic arthritis to reduce the amount of medications they have to take.
Chinese Herbal Medicine:
Herbal supplements have been used as long as acupuncture, can treat the same conditions and are often used with acupuncture as an adjunct or a stand-alone. They are useful because they can be administered daily to our pets and can be used for animals that do not respond to acupuncture. Chinese herbs come in a powder, capsule or pill form.
Tui-Na:
A form of manipulation from Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) that uses the same diagnostic system as acupuncture and is a combination of massage, acupressure and manipulations similar to Chiropractic. We can use this as a warm up or cool down around performance and as at home techniques to monitor and treat issues.
Food Therapy:
The foods we eat everyday can influence general health to a great degree and in Chinese food therapy we use the same TCVM principles to recommend specific foods to add to a current diet or formulate a completely new one to balance the body.
